We got an upgrade and were on the top floor in a three bedroom suite for the two of us. It was really and truly an amazing stay, it was for my 30th birthday and we were treated like royalty. The location was good, it was just around the corner to Aventura mall and a quick bus or taxi down to the hubub of SoBe or Lincoln Street.

The other hotel I stayed at was the Holiday Inn across the street from the Bayside complex/AA arena in Downtown Miami, so not as good a location, and the views are of the bay rather than the beach, but it is very convenient for the port!

Location is just off south beach in the Art Deco area - its a 2 min walk to the main strip but somehow people stop at 5th st and never walk past so you get all the fun but no noise! Such a great area to spend some time and where you want to be. A little further up south beach is a great shopping area and some really great places to eat - especially in the Mexican area.

The hotel has its own 'reserved beach' area with free deck chairs and umbrellas (and towels) which is brilliant as it saves a lot of hassle.

Breakfast is great - if not a bit sparse to American Standards, but still very nice.

If you want to go to down-town Miami then its a cab ride (or the water taxi - lots of fun and you get to see a cool side of the city you wont otherwise see) which is not too much of an inconvenience to be fair.

Recently stayed at the Intercontinental in the Bayside area. Very short walk to the restaurants etc in Bayside, and short taxi ride to Cruise Port. We would most definitely stay again prior to a cruise.

We stayed at the Mandarin Oriental in March. Lovely rooms, pool area and views. It was expensive and I thought the public areas were rather drab. Staff friendly and food OK. I would stay there again for the location and rooms, but not for the food offerings.

Our view on the Lord Balfour in Miami does not coincide with Dan's. We stayed there for 3 nights in late Februaryprior to a cruise from Fort Lauderdale. We were not not over impressed, bedroom & bath room were small but maybe that is normal for an Ocean Drive hotel. In 2016 we stayed close to the cruise terminal in FL & had a more typical US size room.

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